The original 1969 “The Italian Job” is considered by many to be a
classic of the crime-caper genre, lighthearted subdivision. This
reviewer is embarrassed to admit to having seen only the climax, which
has a fantastic chase sequence – something the new version has a few of
– and a literal cliffhanger ending, which is not the case here.

The 2003 version of “The Italian Job” – which will strike most viewers
as a remake, despite protests to the contrary by the filmmakers in the
supplemental material – works just fine on its own merits. In fact, it
harkens back to 1969 not so much because it incorporates elements of
its predecessor (Italian locations, mini-cars, etc.), but because it
has that era’s breezy confidence in its own tone. Director F. Gary Gray
and writers Donna Powers & Wayne Powers neither muck around with
post-modern self-parody nor traffic in unearned grimness. Instead, they
are proficiently funny, thrilling and suspenseful, sometimes by turns
and sometimes simultaneously, as they provide us with a tale of the
perfect robbery undermined by a messy aftermath.

Veteran thief John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) is happy to leave the
planning of one last heist to his protégé Charlie Croker (Mark
Wahlberg). Their crew for the theft of $30 million in gold bricks from
a stronghold in Venice, Italy includes wily Steve (Edward Norton),
computer genius Lyle (Seth Green), super-skilled driver Handsome Rob
(Jason Statham) and demolition expert Left Ear (Mos Def). The robbery
itself comes off exquisitely, complete with a speedboat chase through
the famous canals, but when the gang makes a stop in the Italian Alps,
one of their number turns out to be treacherous, greedy and mighty
mean. When the survivors have time to regroup, Charlie organizes
another outing, this one to retrieve the gold stolen from him and his
remaining friends. He enlists one new reluctant ally, Stella (Charlize
Theron), a security specialist who until now has been on the right side
of the law but has powerful reasons for providing aid.The
schemes and counter-schemes have both narrative surprise and visual
punch, keeping us continually entertained, and the agreeable characters
are good company throughout. Green is particularly amusing as the
audiophile techno-whiz who claims to have invented Napster, while
Wahlberg, Statham and Def exude an easy camaraderie and an assurance
that persuades us that their characters really do know what they’re
doing. Theron is lovely and intelligent, though her role isn’t
especially challenging.

The mini-cars, prominently
featured in the action, come off as fairly ingenious elements, and
we’re continually kept on our toes with a series of
how-will-they-get-around-this-obstacle, wow-that’s-a-good-idea
setpieces.

Sound is mostly excellent. The big explosion in Chapter 3 is so
all-encompassing that for a moment, you may wonder if your floor is
falling away underneath you to accompany the onscreen action. Chapter 4
has wonderful directional speedboat engines zooming from right main to
left rear, as though the watercraft are streaking through your viewing
environment, and Chapter 5 has an intriguing effect as ferociously
punchy automatic weapon fire on dry land is intercut with the sound of
the bullets traveling underwater as one character fires viciously into
a lake. Chapter 7 has a fun mixture of funky soul source music and a
big explosion in a flashback, though there’s a bit of optical bleed in
the twinkling lights of a nighttime cityscape. Chapter 10 has some
good, enveloping wrecking yard effects, with crane engines vibrating in
the rears. Chapter 13 has fine directional vehicle sounds, though the
electronic score seems just a bit scratchy on an effect that sounds
like a drum brush. There’s a good sonic illusion of vertical as well as
side to side movement as the minicars go up and down some surprisingly
small spaces and an actually fun little directional brake squeal in the
left rear to cap the sequence. Chapter 16 has great piledriver impact
on a thrown punch, and those who sit all the way through the end
credits will be rewarded by the pitch-perfect sound of a coin hitting
the pavement.

Extras on the disc are decent, with an actual 5.1 mix (rather than the
customary stereo), with cast and crew speaking in the center and music
and effects low in the mains and rears. Sutherland is appealingly
passionate about the virtues of having a director who is physically on
set with the actors, rather than far away behind a video monitor. It’s
nice to see the screenwriters interviewed at length, but a featurette
on stunts is oddly talky – more visual detail on set-up and execution
would have been welcome.

However, even though we aren’t shown as much behind-the-scenes as we
might like, the film itself is a work of timeless craftsmanship in the
service of contemporary pacing. “The Italian Job” is very good caper
fun.